


Someone To Talk To

by speccygeekgrrl



Category: Heroes - Fandom
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-10-06
Updated: 2009-10-06
Packaged: 2017-10-02 12:40:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 809
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6420
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/speccygeekgrrl/pseuds/speccygeekgrrl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hiro's problem is he can't say no to a dare.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Someone To Talk To

**Author's Note:**

> Set in Okinawa in 1965. Arbitrary numbers: Nathan is 25, Hiro is 16.

Hiro's problem was that he couldn't say no to a dare, especially not from his best friend. When Ando pointed down the road, toward where the American military men went when they weren't on their base, and expressed serious doubts that Hiro would be brave enough to use his shaky English skills on one of the officers, Hiro insisted that he was brave enough. After that, of course, he actually had to do it. He didn't think his English was that bad. He was near the top of his class, mostly because he was terrified of what his father would do if he had the audacity to do any worse.

Still, Hiro wasn't sure what would happen. Some of the Americans were scary; he looked around at the little restaurants and stores the foreigners frequented, feeling small and silly in his school uniform and his thick-rimmed glasses. It was a shock to him when one of the men in uniform stopped and leaned down slightly, smiling bright.

"You look lost," the American said. "Do you need help?"

"N-no," Hiro stuttered, blinking rapidly as he looked up at the tall, trim man. "I know where I am." One eyebrow lifting, the man tilted his head fractionally; Hiro could feel the blush rising to his cheeks. "I speak small English, want to know better."

"What, you're looking for someone to teach you?"

"Not teach..." Hiro frowned. It was hard to think in English, to say what he meant. "Talk to? Maybe friends?" He stuck out one hand hopefully. "My name is Hiro." Laughing, the American shook his hand, and Hiro was amazed at how _big_ the man's hand was, practically swallowing up Hiro's in a strong grip.

"Nice to meet you, Hiro. I'm Nathan Petrelli." Hiro beamed. Ando would go crazy when Hiro told him about this! His eyes fell to the name patch sewn on Nathan's uniform.

"Pe-tre-lli..." That was a hard name to pronounce. Under the patch was an insignia, though, and Hiro looked back up with excitement in his eyes. "Flying man?"

"Yeah, I'm a pilot." His laugh was unrestrained, even if that did garner a few odd looks from others on the street. "Flying man. Yeah." He clapped a hand to Hiro's shoulder, leading him toward one of the small bars nearby. "Come on, I'll buy you a soda and we'll work on your English, how's that sound?"

\---

Hiro was almost certain that Nathan was the nicest possible person he could have encountered because of Ando's dare; it was his luck that Nathan had approached him first, that he wasn't annoyed with Hiro's questions, that when he laughed at Hiro's mistakes it was kindly, not meanly. Nathan spoke a little Japanese, less than Hiro's English and with a much worse accent, and they went back and forth correcting each other and matching each other's nouns with the help of a pencil and a little assistance from the almost-bilingual bartender.

Looking out the window was an unpleasant shock: the sun was already beginning to set, which meant that Hiro and Nathan had been talking for at least two hours, probably more. When he pointed this out, Nathan winced.

"Damn," he said. That was one he'd taught Hiro. "I have to get back to base."

"I have to go home," Hiro said, equally dejected. "Thank you for talking to me, Nathan Petrelli." He still had to be careful over his name, but Hiro liked the way it sounded, liked saying it. Apparently Nathan liked hearing it, because he smiled, patting Hiro's hand easily.

"My pleasure, Hiro." Nathan paused for a moment, then tore off a piece of the placemat they'd been ineptly illustrating and scribbled something down. "If you want to talk again, you should leave a message for me on the base. I don't know when my next day off is, but this was a lot of fun." Folding the paper into Hiro's hand, Nathan's smile went wistful. "You remind me a little of my brother, actually."

Hiro did not feel like a little brother just then, even though he had an older sister. He clutched the paper tight, because it was something worth holding securely, and smiled back at Nathan. "I will leave a message. You are, um..." He'd just learned this one! What was the word... "Really groovy!" Nathan laughed again, bright and rich, and Hiro's stomach did a backflip.

"Thanks, kid." He reached over the table and ruffled Hiro's hair. "See you later, huh?" When Nathan left, Hiro lingered; he folded up the placemat and put it in his schoolbag, proof for Ando that he'd not only talked to an American, but befriended one.

More than befriended, Hiro admitted to himself as he walked home. He'd developed an enormous crush on the charming, handsome foreign pilot, and _that_ was something Ando never needed to know.


End file.
